William Shatner Wakes Shuttle Astronauts with 'Star Trek' Tune

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HOUSTON – Astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery got a
star-studded wakeup call from Earth today – a long-distance
dedication from William Shatner, TV's original Capt. Kirk, set to
the "Theme from Star Trek."

"These have been the voyages of the space
shuttle Discovery," Shatner said in the pre-recorded wakeup
call that mimicked his opening to 1960s "Star Trek" TV series.
"Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new
outposts, to bring nations together in the final frontier, to
boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."

During shuttle missions, astronaut are regularly treated to a
daily wakeup song, which is typically picked for individuals
on the crew by their families. For Discovery's final flight,
however, NASA held a public contest to choose two wakeup songs
for the astronauts on the final days of their mission.

Alexander Courage's theme song from the hit TV show "Star Trek"
was the runner up in the agency's online contest. Nearly 2.5
million votes were cast in the contest, which ran from Aug. 20,
2010 to Nov. 1. This morning's wakeup song garnered 671,133
votes, or 27.2 percent.

"That was, I believe, the second most popular selection from the
song contest for the space shuttle program," shuttle
commander Steve Lindsey said. "I'd like to thank, specifically,
William Shatner, for taking the time to record that special
introduction for us."

Shatner portrayed James T. Kirk, captain of the starship
Enterprise in the iconic science fiction television series and
films.

Participants in NASA's "Top 40 Song Contest" voted from a list of
40 songs that have previously awakened shuttle crews. The winning
song, "Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters will be played
for Discovery's astronauts tomorrow morning, on the last full
mission day prior to the shuttle's landing. [ The
Astronaut's Playlist: Groovy Songs for Space Travelers ]

Discovery is scheduled to land for the last time at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday (March 9) at 11:57
a.m. EST (1657 GMT) after a 13-day mission to the International
Space Station.

You can follow SPACE.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter
@denisechow as she
covers Discovery's final space voyage from NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston. Visit SPACE.com for complete coverage of
Discovery's
final mission STS-133.